North Korea test-fires salvo of short-range missiles

Possibly setting a single-day record for North Korean ballistic launches, eight missiles were fired in succession over 35 minutes

North Korea test-fired a barrage of short-range ballistic missiles from multiple locations toward the sea on Sunday, South Korea’s military said, extending a provocative streak in weapons demonstrations this year that U.S. and South Korean officials say may culminate with a nuclear test explosion.

Possibly setting a single-day record for North Korean ballistic launches, eight missiles were fired in succession over 35 minutes from at least four different locations, including from western and eastern coastal areas and two inland areas north of and near the capital, Pyongyang, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

It said the missiles flew 110 to 670 kilometers at maximum altitudes of 25 to 80 kilometers while reaching speeds of Mach 3 to 6.

South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Won In-Choul held a video conference about the launches with Gen. Paul LaCamera, an American general who heads the South Korea-U.S. combined forces command in Seoul, and they reaffirmed the allies’ joint defense posture, the JCS said in a statement.

Sung Kim, U.S. President Joe Biden’s special envoy for North Korea, also discussed the launches with South Korean officials while on a visit to Seoul, and they expressed “deep regret” that North Korea was continuing weapons development despite grappling with a COVID-19 outbreak at home, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said.

Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said none of the missiles fell inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

The launches came a day after the U.S. aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan concluded a three-day naval drill with South Korea in the Philippine Sea, apparently their first joint drill involving a carrier since November 2017, as the countries move to upgrade their defense exercises in the face of North Korean threats.